東京上班族的通勤狀況，不只擠迫，更讓人近乎窒息。2009年至2012年，攝影師Michael Wolf(1954-2019)在東京地鐵拍攝車廂中的上班族。東京人口稠密，每天有數百萬人依靠地鐵通勤，在上下班時期的高峰期，所有乘客像沙甸魚一樣被擠進車廂，洶湧的人潮讓人透不過氣。

東京地鐵的擁擠程度，絕對出乎一般人想像，乘客不僅動彈不得，甚至要把臉緊貼著車門。Michael Wolf在下北澤車站拍攝緊貼在玻璃車門的乘客臉孔，他們有的不安、茫然，有的感到痛苦、無奈，更多的是緊閉雙眼，彷彿是在抑制當下的情緒，逃離生活的無力感。攝影師刻意聚焦在乘客的臉孔，扭曲的表情及動作，無需身臨其境，觀者已能感受到身處車廂的窒息與辛酸。

隨著最初兩版攝影集絕版，修訂版的第三版《Tokyo Compression Three》在2012年出版，除了之前從未發佈的部份影像外，攝影集的最後還增添多幅關於東京地鐵的宣傳插圖，當中舒適的車廂環境與攝影師拍攝的照片形成強烈對比。

最近，位於上環的Flowers Gallery舉辦同名展覽《Tokyo Compression》，展出書中的72幅照片，在畫廊空間一字排開展出，令人聯想起當時乘客的束縛感。有趣的是，當雨天參觀展覽時，畫廊玻璃門的水珠，彷彿在呼應相片中車廂玻璃的冷凝水。

PS：攝影集《Tokyo Compression Three》，「顯影·書櫃」 @photogshop 有售 。

Tokyo is a densely populated city, and millions commute by subway daily. During rush hours, all passengers are squeezed into the metro like sardines, making people feel suffocating. Michael Wolf’s “Tokyo Compression” focuses on the craziness of Tokyo’s underground system, photographing the subway commuters who were constrained between glass and steel.

The photographer deliberately captured passengers’ faces at Shimokitazawa station in Tokyo from 2009 to 2012. People were uneasy and bewildered; some closed their eyes as if they were escaping the helplessness of life. The series won many awards and has been exhibited worldwide.

Wolf found the subway system appropriate for studying the mental state of the city’s inhabitants. He excluded all other elements and concentrated solely on capturing expressions and body language. With his unconventional aesthetics, Wolf produces highly intense images that shockingly portray people’s inner lives.

Tokyo Compression
Date: now till 29 June 2024
Time: 12 – 6 pm (Tue-Sat)
Site: Flowers Gallery, 49 Tung Street, Sheung Wan